Biomarker Detection in the Wastewater Phantom

Research trends are focused on developing solutions that monitor public health utilizing sewage surveillance, as wastewater can provide valuable information on the presence of specific biomarkers. Such information can serve as an indication of immune response at the community level, delivering a noninvasive measure of e.g., vaccination effectiveness. In this paper, we present an optical wastewater phantom fabrication, characterization, and comparison to real wastewater samples. Raman spectroscopy was used for the investigation of the molecular compositions of treated wastewater and artificial wastewater phantoms, and the refractometer to investigate refractive index values dependence on temperature. Selected biomarkers concentrations (10^-6 to 10^-1 mg/mL) were added to the validated phantoms. The selective detection of SARS-CoV-2 immunoglobulin G (IgG) was achieved through specific surface modification of the fiber-optic probe, allowing only targeted biomarkers to attach and influence the measurement signal. Successful detection of 10^-6 mg/mL IgG concentration in the wastewater phantom was achieved within 5 min.